Needle-sharpening device.



D. W. CAUSEY. NEEDLE SHARPENING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 26. 1918.

Patented Dec. 10, 1918.

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V I W l 7 Wilmwouh D. W. CAUSEY. NEEDLE SHARPENING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 26. I918.

avweuloz Patented Dec. 10, 1918.

2 SHEETSSHEET Z unpmm these needles, but in DANIELW. CAUSEY, 0F NORFOLK, VIRGINIA.

NEEDLE-SHARPENING- DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 10, 1918.

Application filed January 26, 1918. Serial No. 213,877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, DANIEL V. Caesar, a citizen of the United States, residing at Norfolk, in the county of Norfolk and ,State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Needle-Sharpening Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for sharpening or repointing needles particularly those adapted for use on talking machines.

It is well known that the usual steel phonograph needle becomes worn when used in playing a single record to such an extent that its further use is undesirable as well as injurious to the record. And owing to the fact that the greater part of the needle is available for further use. it is desirable to the end of conserving needle steel. to rcpoint so doing it is necessary to provide a point which will not be too sharp and thus cut into the record material and destroy the sound groove. That is to say, phonograph needles must have a perfectly formed point, which point, while apparently very sharp to appearance and touch in reality more or less blunt. as will appear from. a microscopic examination of a. perfect needle point. Accordingly, the present invention has prin'rarily in view adevice which will initially repoint the needle to a very tine and sharp point to thereby remove any burs, this, or deflect-ed portions caused by its previous use, and then to subject the same to a polishing operation which smmithes the entire surrounding surfaces of the pointand renders the same somewhat round or blunt. Thus, the repointed needle will be provided with a new and perfect point equal in all respects to that originally obtainet'l in the rather tedious and prolonged processes involved in preparing phonograph needles in bulk for the market.

'lherefore, the present invention has primarily in view a simple practical and re liable machine which will properly perform the initial sharpening operation and then carry out the necessary steps of polishing and rounding otl' of the point automatically. In this latter connection it must be understood that the polishing step does not involve the undoing of what is accomplished by the sharpening in the sense that it puts an absolutely blunt point on the needle, because as a. matter of fact, even after the needle point is subjected to the polishing operation it is still sharp to the touch, and its relatively dull or blunt characteristic can only be appreciated with the aid of a. microscope. This dulling or rounding otf however, is absolutely essential to the perfect performance and ellieiency of a phonograph needle, whereas in the case of sewing machine needles and the like, the simple sharpening of the point alone is sufficient.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device embodying few and simpleparts, and which is of such a character that it is particularly adapted for home use, and

requires no special skill or manipulation to obtain uniformly satisfactory results.

\Vith the above and other objects in view which will more readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the

same consists in the novel construction, com-- bination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which .l igure l is a perspective view of my improved needle sharpening machine showing very clearly the combined sharpening and polishing surfaces.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view thereof.

Fig. is a more or less diagrammatic view showingthe sharpening and polishing disk in section, and illustrating by the arrow the straight path of movement of the needle across the sharpeningportion of the disk while) the distorted needle point is being turned down.

Fig.5 is a view similar to Fig. l showing the position of the needle carrier in full lines when the needle has reached the polishing center of the disk and how the same is rocked onto its point by the wheel of the needle carrier engaging with the cam ring; and also showingin dotted lines the position of the needle carrier and needle at the. other limit. of the rocking movement of the carrier.

Fig. is a detail perspective view of the sharpening and polishing disk showing how the cam surface may be made integral with mental characteristicsand features of the .macbine set forth in my former Patent No. 1,256,978, dated February 19, 1918, and therefore as will be observed from the accompanying drawings, the reference charactor I designates a supporting base, which in the present instance is preferably made of stamped metal and provided with the flanged skirt portion 2 that forms a housmg for a suitable tensioning device for the 5 needle carrier as will hereinafter more fully appear. On the said base 1 is mounted a suitable standard or support 3 havmg journaled therein a shaft 4 carrying a rela tively large driving 'gear'5 fitted with an operating handle (5, and meshing with a relatively small pinion 7 carried by the shaft 8 having at one end thereof the combined polishing and sharpening disk 9.

'AThis polishing and sharpening disk constitutes one of the chief and most important elements of the present device, since it not only performs the function of initially sharpening the needle, but at the same tin e provides for polishing and rounding ed the '0 needle point to the necessary degree all in the same operation. As will be observed from Fig. 1 this disk is providial with a polishing surface 10 of any suitable abrasive material such as emery, carborundum or the like while the central portion thereof has secured thereto a dished or counter-sunk polishing member 11, preferably metal. It will of course be understood that this polisl1- ing member 11 may be of any other material 5 found desirable and expedient in practice, so .ong as it adheres to the function of being capable of polishing the needle point to the required extent. In other words under all circumstances the quality of this polishing surface, is finer than that of the slnrr 'iening surface which entirel surrounds the same. And, furthernlore, as will be observed from Figsr2 to 5 inclusive, this polishing member 11 is of special formation. That is to say, it is preferably of relatively flat cross section at its center while its outer edge portions are curved upwardly to meet the plane of the sharpening surface 10.

Also, in connection with the disk 10 it is to be noted that the same is provided at its the needle carrier in an arc latter surface 10.

arm or spindle 18.

periphery with a suitable cam ring 12 which is pivoted at diametrically opposite points 13 to the disk so that it may be shifted on these pivots 13 as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 5. lVhile this way of forming the camring has been found practical it will also l r 112""l8fstood that the same may be formr... int ral with the disk 9 as suggested at 12*} in Fig. 6 of the drawings. In both instances the function of the cam ring will be the same, nan'iely, to cause a rocking or swinging of whose center is the point of the sharpened needle as will presently appear.

At one side of the disk 5), which preferably lies in a vertical plane as shown in the drawings, there is mounted a needle carrier 14 which includes a rotary needle chuck 1.5 at one end for gripping the needle while the opposite end is provided with a traction wheel 16 for engaging with the abrasive sharpening surface 10 of the disk 9 in the same manner as in my other application previously referred. to, whereby the rotation of the disk 9 will cause the entire carrier to be shifted-- across the face thereof. As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, this needle carrier ll is of substantially T-shaped formation, the shank 17 thereof being hollow and adapted to engage with pivotally connected at its lower end as at 19 with the body portion 20 of a tension device designated generally as '1. Thus, the entire needle carrier ll is detachably engagml with the tension device, and is capable of a swinging movement on the pivot 19 to permit of the shifting of the needle from the periphery of the disk toward the center thereof as shown in dotted lines in Fig. l. and as also fully set forth and explained in my former application.

The purpose of the tension device '1 is to hold the needle carrier 14 yieldably against the surface of the rotates there will be suliicient frictionbetwcen the wheel 16 and surface 10 to produce the necessary tractive effect. The greater the tension on the needle carrier, the faster it will travel across the face of the disk while on the other band when the tension is lessened the shifting of the needle carrier will be more rapid.

As will. lie-observed from the drawing the body portion 20 of the tension device. T which has pivoted. thereto the spindle or arm 18 M19, has also pivotally attached to its opposite corner as at 21 a suitable fiber needle holder which may be swung over into such a position that fiber needles clamped therein may be sharpened on the When sharpening these needles the needle carrier 14 may be removed since the hollow shank 17 dctachably engages the And, as may also be obscrw-(Lthe said body portion. 20 is piva spindle l8 9 disk 9. whereby when the Q connection with a tension spring 27 under that the cam ring 12 is 1 'tion.

otally supported in suitable eyes 23 which may be struck up from the metal of the base i or otherwise conveniently formed, while,

-j. pivots in the eyes 23, while the other leg s may be left in the plane of the body and project through a slot '26 in the base 1 to be engage by one end of the tension spring 9,? whose opposite end has a swive adjusting screw 28. lhe head 29 of the latter is conveniently exposed in a readily accessible position whereby the operator may rotate the one way or the other to place the more or less tension, an .equently cause the wheel 16 of the e to have a greater or less tractive enface. of the disk 9. p to the manner of operait the present device it may be noted first deflected from one of the disk 9, and then the needle r with the needle N in the chuck placed at the peripheral edge of the ling surface 10 while the wheel 16 carrier engages with the portion of .rfaces 10 of smallest diameter. lhen, disk 9 is rotated by manipulating the g 5 and 7 through the handle 6, and the meme it will be rotated and shifted from the peripheral edge of the disk toward the center, or in other words, the needle will be drawn across the sharpening surface 10 to-. ward the polishing surface 11, and at the ant the point of the needle N 0111 the surface 10 into the dished "nember Ill, the wheel 16 leaves *hery of the disk 9 and travels on ing- 12. Obviously, the continue on of the disk 9 with the wheel 16 on cam ring 12 will cause the rocking of the needle carrier, with the extreme limit rocking movement taking place at the wheel end of the carrier as shown in Fig. 5, and. at the sametime having the effect of ocking theneedle N from heel to toe on he curved side wall of the polishing memor 11 whereby the needle point will be polisli-ed and at the same time made somewhat round or blunt as suggested in the greatly magnified illustrations of the needle 'n Figs. '7 and 8. Thus, it will be apparent that the continued rotation of the disk 9 with the needle N in the position shown in Fig. 5 will polish the point and take off the extremely sharp extremity which results from the sharpening opera With the construction shown in the present drawings it will of course be apparent that the wheel end of the carrier M neferring now rier, and mcans for 'face and a. polishing surface,

will oscillate to both sides of the plane of the sharpening surface 10 of the disk 9, and in so doing the full length of the needle point will be uniformly polished from the heel to the toe, or in other words from the point where the needle begins 'to taper to its operative extremity,

Furthermore,- it may be noted that in addition to the important aspect of the present invention which provides a combined sharpening and polishing surface it is proposed to so construct the disk having these special features and characteristics so that it will automatically effect an oscillating or rocking of the needle carrier. The rotation of the disk causes the entire carrier to be shifted across the face thereof as long as the wheel of the carrier remains in engagement with the flat surface of the disk, but when the wheel leaves this fiat surface and rides upon the cam element of the disk, there is a new movement imparted to the needle carrier which takes place in a plane at substantially right angles to the movement which takes place when the carrier is shifted across the face of the disk. That is to say, the simple rotation of the disk 9 first causes the needle carrier to have a movement in a plane parallel to the surface of the disk while on the other hand when the wheel of the carrier engages the cam surface it has an oscillating iovement in a. plane at right angles to the surface of the disk. These two separate and distinct movements occurring in substantially one and the same operation, combines with the novel sharpening and polishing surfaces of the disk, to quickly and neonrately produce the desired point on the needle.

\Vithout further description it. is thought that the many features and advunlagcs of the present invention will be readily apparent, and it will of course be understood that changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction ma i\ be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the in vention or scope of the appended claims.

I claim l. A needle sharpening machine including a rotary member face and a polishing surface, and a shiftable needle carrier operativcly related to both of said surfaces.

2. A needle sharpening machine including a rotary member carrying an alunsivcsurface and a polishing surface, a needle can feeding the needle car'- rier across the abrasive surface into opcl'utive relation to the polishing surface.

3. A needle sharpening machine i'm luding a rotary member nrrying an ab 'asive sura needle carrier, means for feeding the needle carrier across the abrasive surface into operative re lation to the polishing surface, and means carrying an abrasive sur-- for imparting a rocking movement to the needle carrier when coi'iperating with the polishing surface.

4. A needle sharpening machine including a rotary member carrying an abrasive slll'- fate and a polishing surface located within the central part of the abrasive surface. and a shiftable needle carrier operatively related to both the said surfaces.

5. A needle sharpening machine including an abrasive disk, a needle carrier for holding aneedle at an angle to the disk, and means for oscillating the end of the needle carrier opposite the needle in a plane at right apgles to the surface of the disk. f

(i. A needle sharpening machine including a disk having a sharpening surface. and a central metal polishing cup including a relatively flat bottom and a curved side wall, a needle carrier for holding a needle at an angle to the disk. and means for oscillating the end of the needle carrier opposite the needle 'in a plane at right angles to the surface of the disk, whereby the needle may be rocked on its pointv to cooperate with said curved wall of the cup.

7. A needle sharpening machine including a disk having sharpening and polishing surfaces, a needle carrier including a wheel for contacting with said disk and adapted to be shifted across the face thereof when said disk is rotated. and means carried by said disk for oscillating the wheel end of the carrier. I

8. A needle sharpening machine including a combined sharpening and polishing disk, a needle. carrier having a frictional engage ment with the sharpening surface of the disk and adapted to be shifted in a plane parallel to thesurface of the disk upon the rotation thereof, and means carried by the disk for imparting an oscillating movement to one end of said carrier.

9. A needle sharpening machine including a combined sharpening disk having a flat sharpenin r surface and a dished central polishing sur ace, a rotatable needle carrier having frictional engagement with the disk and adapted to be shifted across the face thereof as it rotates, and means for rocking the needle carrier.

10. A needle sharpening machine including a combined sharpening and polishing disk, a rotary needle carrier adapted to receive a needle in one end and having a tract-- t-ion wheel at the other, means for causing said wheel and needle of the carrier to engage with the sharpening surface of the disk whereby when the needle is located at the periphery of the sharpening surface the wheel will engage with the smallest diameter thereof and upon rotation of the disk the needle will be shifted toward the center and the wheel toward the periphery, a cam ring located at the periphery, of the disk and and polishingadapted to receive the wheel of the carrier as it leaves the periphery of the sharpening disk to oscillate the entire carrier, with the point of the needle which contracts with the polishing surface of the disk acting as the center of the. arc of oscillation.

11. A needle sharpening machine including arotary disk. having sharpening and polishing surfaces, a needle carrier having means at one end for clampingly engaging the needle and a wheel at the other end for engaging with the surface of the disk and nniintaining the needle at a fixed angle to the disk, and cam means carried by the disk for engaging with the wheel of the carrier as the. same is shifted toward the periphery of the disk, said cam means serving to rock the carrier to increase the angle at which the needle engages with the disk.

12. A needle sharpening machine including a rotary disk having a sharpening surface and a polishing surface, a needle carrier having means at one end for holding a needle and awheel at the other end for engaging with the sharpeningsurface of the disk. and a cam element located at the peripheral edge of the disk for engaging with the wheel after it leaves the flat surface of the disk to impart an oscillating movement to the carrier.

l3. A needle sharpening machine including a rotary disk having a sharpening surface and a polishing surface. a needle carrier having means at one end for holding a needle and a wheel at the other end for engaging with the sharpening surface of the disk, and a cam ring carried by the periph eral edge of the disk and adapted to engage with thewheel of the carrier after the same leaves the flat surface of the disk to rock the needle in the other end of the carrier from the heel to toe.

H. A needle sharpening machine including a. combined sharpening and polishing disk, a needle carrier having a traction feeding engagement with said disk. and a tension device for said needle carrier including a pivotally supported member and means fo adjusting the tension of said member.

15. A needle sharpening machine including a base, a combined sharpening and polishing disk rotatably supported on the/disk. a needle carrier engaging with said disk. a tension device having said needle carrier pivotally connected a body member pivotally supported on said base, a spring for engaging with a portion of said body member on the opposite side of the pivot to that which the needle carrier is connected. and a manually adjustable screw engaging the other end of said sprin in. A needle sharpening machine including a flanged metallic base, a combined sharpening and: polishing disk rotatably supported thereon, .a needle carrier for entherewith and including 5 project ing gaging with said diak. a tension dm'ivc pi\' Mall connwtvd with said needle (illlitl and including a hnd poiinn and pivntaii supported in .said base and alsn having a pin-{inn through a $101 in said hast, a spring engaging the pui'iiun ni' said hody which lHUjkKiS1il]' )ll1il said slot and hnnsvd within said Hanged base. and a (hand) si-rvw mounted in m flange of said ifilik and ha\'- ing a sn'iwl vunnm-tinn with the and of said 10 wring opposite that engaging with (he depvnding pm'tinn of .said body.

in testim ny whuruof l hereunto afiix my signaun'o in tlw pi'vsvnve of two witnesses. DANIEL \V. CAUSEY. Wiinvssus: 

